The present invention generally relates to induction motors, and particularly to a method and apparatuses for controlling an induction motor.
Many methods and apparatuses are used to control an induction motor. Exemplary methods and apparatuses include speed tab changing, triac controls, and fixed speed drive. In changing the speed tabs, an effective reduction in voltage or flux is provided to cause the motor to run at a reduced speed by the nature of a slip. The slip is a measurement of how much the movement of the rotor follows the excitation field, and is defined as the difference between the frequency of the excitation energy and the speed of the motor. While these controls provide adequate speed control, they do so at the expense of efficiency as the motor runs at a higher slip which is proportional to rotor conduction loss.